Category Archives: In Canberra

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It was a pleasure to catch up with Tammy Gardner, CEO of Huntington’s Victoria to update me on the work they are doing to support people living with this debilitating disease, their carers and families.

As Co Chair of the Australia-Japan Federal Parliamentary Friendship Group it was an honour to attend a reception at the Japanese Embassy to honour the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan. I am with the Ambassador of Japan to Australia, His Excellency Mr Sumio Kusaka and Ben Wholagan, Vice President of the Australia-Japan Society of Western Australia (Inc)

“There should have been other treatments options. There were none. We must do better.”

This is how one witness described the experience of his wife being diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma. It is an experience that the Committee into Low Survival Cancers heard time and time again.

Because low survival cancers kill thousands of Australians every year.

Despite being less prevalent than other cancers, survival rates for these cancers are below 50%, and for some like brain cancers, around 20%, or even lower.
For many of these cancers treatment options are limited. For others, there are none.

We must do better.

After twelve months, seven public hearings and over 300 submissions, today I tabled the final report of the Senate Select Committee into Funding for Research into Cancers with Low Survival Rates.

I am proud to have chaired this Committee. The Committee has made 25 recommendations that we hope will improve survival rates for those diagnosed with these cancers.

We have called for an action plan to improve the survival rate of low survival rate cancers to more than 50% by 2027.

We have also recommended that the National Health and Medical Research Council consider identifying low survival rate cancers in its next corporate plan.

I hope the government takes action on these recommendations. For too long not enough has been done.